1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a scent pad and mechanism for housing the same.
2. Description of Related Art
The ability to easily and efficiently control indoor environments is highly desirable. For this reason, a number of devices have been developed to control the temperature, humidity, odor and air quality of enclosed environments such as the rooms of a house. These devices include humidifiers, air purifiers, heaters, fans, scent masks, air fresheners and the like.
For example, in temperate climates controlling humidity can be very important. During the winter and the months surrounding the winter, a lack of humidity in the air can cause significant discomfort to people. Humidifiers are a typical device used to control humidity. During these same months, many people develop colds and have sinus and chest congestion. One method for treating congestion and colds is by dispersing a soothing menthol scent into the air.
Humidifiers including means for generating a scent have been developed but have various drawbacks. These humidifiers typically include an air freshener portion to disperse an aesthetic scent into the environment. Known humidifiers having an air freshening capability include humidifiers with scented objects disposed in an air path generated by a fan of the humidifier. The scented object continuously diffuses a scent into the air and the fan blows the scent into the surrounding environment. These scented objects known as “scent pads” typically are of a parallelogram shape such as a square or rectangle and are inserted into a slot or holder within the humidifier that is located adjacent to the fan and against a heated surface which releases the scented materials into the air.
In prior art devices, these slots or holders within the humidifier fit any scent pads or other materials that a user would insert. Thus, the manufacturer of a humidifier could not control what pads are used with which particular humidifiers. Use of improper scent pads or pads that were not optimized for the particular device would result in inferior performance and could result in damage to the humidifier.
There is a need for a mechanism for ensuring that a particular scent pad is used with a humidifier component for housing such a scent pad. This component should be specially designed to house a specially shaped pad. Such a mechanism would help ensure that the pad can be optimized for the particular humidifier based on shape, material thickness and the like.
It should be noted that although the description herein describes the mechanism for housing the scent pad of the present invention as being a part of a humidifier, it can be appreciated by one of ordinary skill in the art that certain aspects of the present invention can be used in conjunction with other devices such as a heater, air purifier or a fan for example.